by Jay | Apr 6, 2016 | ACT, Lee USA, New, New Hampshire, Touring Series News
Waterbury, VT –The unique Winter-Spring of 2016 has forced officials of the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and the Lee USA Speedway to postpone the New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150, originally scheduled for Saturday, April 9 and Sunday, April 10.
More than 40 ACT Late Model teams were expected to try and qualify for 28 starting spots, including defending event and 2015 ACT Champion Wayne Helliwell Jr. of Dover, NH, along with recent SERIE Que Champions Dany Trepanier and Alex Labbe. Former Lee Governor’s Cup Champion, Eddie MacDonald of Rowley, MA was also ready to begin the season at his home track.
The make-up date for Lee is scheduled for Saturday, April 23 and Sunday, April 24 with a post time of 1:00pm.
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by Jay | Mar 29, 2016 | ACT, New, Touring Series News
Helliwell Seeks Fourth ACT Title as New Challengers Emerge
Waterbury, VT – The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) kicks off its 25th season of Late Model competition on Sunday, April 10 with the New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150 at Lee USA Speedway. A talented field is getting ready for the 13-race 2016 season, setting up a wide-open championship battle. Reigning ACT Late Model Tour Champion Wayne Helliwell, Jr. is set to defend his title, but a mix of new challengers and rising stars will fight him at every stop for the $10,000 top prize.
Dover, NH’s Helliwell and his Bernhardt Motorsports team put together one of the best seasons in ACT Late Model Tour history in 2015 en route to their third ACT Championship in four seasons. Helliwell captured four wins, including the NH Governor’s Cup at his home track of Lee, and finished in the top-10 in every event. Helliwell became the third driver to win at least three ACT Late Model championships, joining Brian Hoar (8) and Jean-Paul Cyr (7). A fourth championship would further solidify his place among the all-time great ACT drivers.
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by Jay | Mar 25, 2016 | ACT, New, New England, Touring Series News
Lee, NH – Lee USA Speedway is readying for the 2016 season opener just two weeks from now on April 10, with the annual running of the New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150 American Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Model event. The traditional season-opener will also feature the NEMST Mini Stocks and Northeast Classic Lites doing battle at “New Hampshire‘s Center of Speed“.
Last year’s running of the Governor’s Cup event saw longtime Lee USA regular and eventual 2015 ACT champion Wayne Helliwell, Jr. of nearby Dover take down his first career ACT win at Lee, with Maine racer Brad Babb and hometown hero Eddie “The Outlaw” MacDonald of Rowley, MA rounding out the podium.
Both Helliwell and MacDonald cut their racing teeth on the fast 3/8th’s mile oval back in the 1990’s, with feature wins and track championships coming early and often in their careers. “Junior” has taken home championship titles in the Late Model Sportsman, Late Model, and Supermodified ranks over the years, with the 2015 Governor’s Cup 150 win among his career highlights.
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by Jay | Mar 18, 2016 | ACT, New, New Hampshire, Touring Series News
Southern New England Tripleheader Highlights 25th Season for ACT Late Models
Waterbury, VT – The 25th season of the ACT Late Model Tour will see a number of exciting new events that showcase the best of Late Model racing in the Northeastern United States. Among the highlights of the silver anniversary is the debut of the Southern New England Tripleheader, which will pit the standouts of the ACT Late Model Tour against the best weekly Late Model racers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
The three race series will be contested at Connecticut’s New London-Waterford Speedbowl and Thompson Speedway, along with Massachusetts’ Seekonk Speedway, which is located just outside of E. Providence, RI. In addition to awarding ACT Late Model Tour championship points at each event, a separate $7,500 point fund has been posted for local weekly competitors who run all three events.
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by Jay | Mar 17, 2016 | ACT, Lee USA, New, New Hampshire, Touring Series News
Alan Ward photo
Waterbury, VT – The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) opens its 25th season of ACT Late Model racing, along with the 33rd season of racing at Lee USA Speedway, with the New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150 on Sunday, April 10. The traditional ACT season opener often sets the tone for what to watch throughout the season, and the 2016 edition should be no exception.
ACT competition at the 1/3-mile speedway has historically been hard to predict. The previous 13 ACT Late Model Tour events at Lee have seen 12 different winners, with Brian Hoar’s back-to-back Governor’s Cup wins in 2011 and 2012 standing as the only repeat triumph. Former Lee USA Champion Wayne Helliwell, Jr. of Dover, NH became the latest ACT winner at the track when he captured the 2015 Governor’s Cup, the first of his four wins en route to the 2015 ACT Championship.
Surprise performances at the event also abound, and performances by these drivers have frequently led to even bigger things for them. Williamstown, VT’s Jimmy Hebert was the surprise winner of the 2013 Governor’s Cup, which kick-started a breakout season that saw him finish third in ACT points. In 2015, Windham, ME’s Brad Babb scored a then career-best runner-up finish at Lee. Babb went on to win two races and finish third in the final 2015 standings.
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by Jay | Mar 11, 2016 | ACT, New, Touring Series News
Eric Lafleche/Victory Lane Radio photo
Waterbury, VT – The 2016 American-Canadian Tour (ACT) season begins in just a month’s time on Sunday, April 10, when the ACT Late Model Tour travels to Lee USA Speedway for the New Hampshire Governor’s Cup 150. The annual event will kick off a milestone season for ACT in both the United States and Canada.
The upcoming season will mark the 25th year of competition for the ACT Late Model Tour, which was created in 1992. Meanwhile, the Quebec-based Série ACT is entering its 10th season, having been born in 2007 out of the former Série National Late Model Sportsman division.
Both Tours continue to be among the most sought-after racing series in the Northeastern United States and eastern Canada. ACT will visit 15 different race tracks during the 2016 season, traveling from the banks of the St. Lawrence River to the eastern shores of Long Island Sound. The 13-race U.S. Tour schedule will be contested at 11 different tracks, matching the most in Tour history. Nearly 160 different drivers attempted to qualify for at least one ACT-sanctioned event in 2015, and with a number of changes and additions to the schedule in 2016, that number may grow even larger.
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